[ad_1]
2
Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has said that at Euro 2024, he would choose to play against Kobi Maynou instead of Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold in England’s midfield.
Mainoo has endured a hugely successful individual campaign despite United’s struggles on the pitch.
The 19-year-old easily broke into Erik ten Hag’s plans shortly after his recovery from pre-season injury and has never looked back.
He impressed with his calm and composed displays which often saw him stand head and shoulders above some of his older and more experienced teammates. Mainoo ended the season with a goal in the FA Cup final last weekend as United beat Manchester City 2-1 at Wembley.
Mainoo has been named in Gareth Southgate’s provisional squad ahead of Euro 2024 and is expected to be part of the final list before the start of the summer tournament in Germany
One player Southgate didn’t call up was Jordan Henderson and there was plenty of talk about who would replace him.
It has been suggested that one solution to compensate for Henderson’s absence would be to place Alexander-Arnold a little further up the pitch, in the middle of the park – a role he is familiar with.
However, according to Rooney speaking on The Overlap, the Three Lions would be best served by using Mainoo instead of the Liverpool star.
Rooney said: “I’ve watched Trent play in midfield a few times and I think you lose a lot of his qualities. His delivery is obviously incredible and of course he can pick out passes from midfield, but I think he has to fight that (with Walker for the right-back spot).”
“I know Kyle is the best right-back in the world at the moment, but I think midfield is such an important position. I would play Mainoo before Trent in midfield, 100%.”
“It’s not that Trent can’t play there, we saw him do it recently against Everton and some of the passes he hit were incredible. Probably only Becks (David Beckham) beats him in that area.”
Rooney added: “But I think to play in midfield you need that discipline, especially when you’re up against bigger teams, and he might be exposed a bit.”
The United legend has backed England to do well at the Euros now that they have an element of fear around them.
Want to be the first to hear the latest Man United news? For handpicked, key updates, join our WhatsApp channel: https://bit.ly/United-Breaking-News.
[ad_2]
